Collected Poems

Fleur Adcock is a renowned British poet known for her witty and insightful poems that explore love, family, identity, and politics. This first complete edition of her poetry is published on her 90th birthday, including five later collections and 20 new poems.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 624 pages
Publication date: 10 February 2024
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd

Fleur Adcock is a highly acclaimed poet from Britain, known for her poised, ironic, and tightly controlled poetry. Her work is characterized by a shrewd laconic style that often reveals the deceptions of love or unravels family lives. Remarkably conversational in tone, her poems offer psychological insight and a mischievously casual view of personal relationships. Born in New Zealand, Adcock's work explores questions of identity and rootedness, both in relation to her personal allegiances to her native and adopted countries and her family history. She brings to life the long-dead characters from her family's past with a poignant touch. Adcock's poetry also delves into themes of birth, death, and bereavement, tackling these subjects with honesty and caustic wit. This first complete edition of her poetry, published on her 90th birthday, includes a collection of five later collections published by Bloodaxe, Dragon Talk (2010), Glass Wings (2013), The Land Ballot (2015), Hoard (2017), and The Mermaid's Purse (2021). In addition, it features a gathering of 20 new poems, showcasing her enduring talent and versatility. This edition encompasses all of Adcock's most celebrated poems, ranging from the highly entertaining "Against Coupling," "Smokers for Celibacy," and "The Prize-Winning Poem" to modern classics such as "The Ex-Queen Among the Astronomers" and "Things." Her poetry continues to resonate with readers, offering a unique and captivating perspective on the human experience.

Weight: 1154g
Dimension: 233 x 157 x 43 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781780376837